Spain's economy shrank for the seventh straight quarter from January to March, preliminary data showed on Tuesday, and the recession looks set to last into next year. Acute joblessness and grim economic data from Spain and other euro zone countries have fuelled a raging debate over whether Europe should abandon austerity policies that are still favoured by regional powerhouse Germany. Spain's Gross Domestic Product contracted 0.5 percent in the first three months of this year from the last quarter of 2012, according to preliminary data from the National Statistics Institute, dragged lower by sliding domestic demand. ... (full story)